Parents of ESE Students Lament Loss Of Advocates After Federal Cuts

Friday

Aug 16, 2013 at 11:11 PM

Less than a week before the start of classes, Michelle Yborra of Lakeland was considering a change of schools for her son, Devin.

By GARY WHITETHE LEDGER

BARTOW | Less than a week before the start of classes, Michelle Yborra of Lakeland was considering a change of schools for her son, Devin.Devin Yborra, who is entering seventh grade, has autism and has been enrolled in Exceptional Student Education classes. After hearing about a change of teachers at Kathleen Middle School, Yborra thought it might be better to take Devin elsewhere.She planned to consult with Beverly Brimer, one of four Parents as Liaisons with the school district's ESE department, before deciding what to do. But Yborra recently learned that Brimer and the other three PALs have had their positions eliminated.Polk school officials say a loss of federal funds made it impossible to continue paying the four independent contractors, whose main duty was to assist parents in establishing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Those are agreements outlining the steps a school will take to ensure a student receives the same educational opportunity as students without disabilities.Regardless of the explanation, Yborra and other parents are upset about losing what they say is a crucial resource."Your liaison is like family, part of your life," Yborra said. "For her to be gone, I'm not happy. (Brimer) knows all about Devin's history. She's been helping me for years with the IEP. I know she's got my back."Nancy Woolcock, assistant superintendent of learning support for Polk Schools, said the reason for the reduction can be summed up in one word: "sequestration."That's the bureaucratic label for automatic federal spending cuts that took effect March 1 after President Barack Obama and Congress failed to reach agreement on specific reductions. Sequestration was forecast to eliminate $644 million in federal funding for special education, The Atlantic magazine reported.Florida was expected to lose $31.1 million in funds for special education programs, according to a White House fact sheet.Woolcock said sequestration has meant a loss of about $1 million in federal funds for Polk's ESE department, money that had been allocated in previous years through the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act program. Woolcock said the funding cut also caused her to freeze the positions of some staff members who had retired, and she said the budget for training, supplies, substitute teachers and travel was cut deeply.Woolcock said the four liaisons had contracts in the 2012-2013 school year totaling about $28,000. She said each liaison was contracted to work about 400 hours, which equates to about 10 hours a week. The contracts ended June 30."Yes, it's a significant loss to parents and students in the district," Woolcock said. "They (liaisons) were a link — one of the links I have available."Woolcock said the district's ESE staff will be available to advise parents. She said a workshop scheduled for Sept. 21 at Lake Region High School in Eagle Lake will provide resources for parents of students in the ESE program.Congressman Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, said he has pushed for trimming federal spending but didn't favor the automatic cuts of the sequester."Many Floridians locally are affected by the sequester — from our military at MacDill (Air Force Base) to teachers and students in Polk County," Ross said. "It's terribly unfortunate that these positions are being cut when they are vital to multiple students and families."

CRAFTING PLANSEach of the liaisons is a parent or grandparent of children with disabilities. Brimer's grown son, Jeremy Brimer, has Down syndrome. Wick Workman and Hope Workman, a married couple, have children and grandchildren diagnosed with bipolar disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Lisa Miller, the other liaison, is the mother of a 10-year-old boy diagnosed with autism and mild cerebral palsy.Hope Workman said she has served the school district for about 20 years. Brimer worked as a liaison for about six years. The school district added Wick Workman as a liaison midway through the 2011-2012 school year and Miller last fall.Each of the liaisons reported assisting at least 20 families in the previous school year, and they said the numbers were rising as more parents became aware of the option.Though officially contracted to work just 10 hours a week, the liaisons were essentially on call at all hours for parents needing advice, Wick Workman said.Woolcock said about 11,000 students in Polk County schools have Individualized Education Programs, which are a right under federal law for all ESE students. An IEP is normally crafted through meetings among parents, teachers, administrators and other school personnel.Parents say the process of creating an IEP can be confusing and frustrating and sometimes feels adversarial. Yborra, whose son has had an IEP since kindergarten, said Brimer provided crucial help in ensuring Devin had the best possible plan in place.Yborra said she relies on Brimer in part because she has health problems that impair her memory."When you get in those meetings, some of those people (from the district) just want to get out really quick," Yborra said. "Of course, I couldn't understand half the information they were giving, so Beverly would step in. She would help me understand what they were talking about and what they wanted me to do. ... Without her, I would have no clue what to do, and I know Devin would not be where he is today without her."Brimer said teachers and school officials often use jargon and acronyms that parents don't understand during IEP meetings. Brimer and the other liaisons said their personal experience in forging IEPs for their children equipped them to steer other parents through the often daunting process. "Very often I would go and just hold a parent's hand as they would cry because they didn't understand or were so frustrated," Brimer said.

KEEPING PEACEBrimer said parents viewed liaisons as independent mediators who helped ensure their children received the modifications they deserve. She said liaisons often served as "peacemakers" during testy meetings."Once I walked into a meeting that had already started, and you could cut the tension with a knife," Brimer said. "As soon as I walked in and they knew who I was, the whole atmosphere changed. We were able to have a quick meeting then and resolve things. You could tell that parent was really getting frustrated. A lot of it is simply miscommunication. They weren't all speaking the same language. And a lot of times I could come in and say, 'This is what they're trying to say to you.'?"Miller said liaisons potentially saved the school district money by heading off litigation. She said parents unhappy with the district's offer of an IEP sometimes go to court to force the accommodations they want.Because the change occurred in mid-summer, some parents and guardians haven't yet learned that the liaisons will not be available this fall, Brimer said. Yet she said she has gotten phone calls from some distressed about the change."I talked to a grandparent this week who was very upset and said, 'What can I do? Can I write to the governor?'?" Brimer said. "I said, 'I don't think that will help.'?"Wick Workman said he had received at least eight phone calls from parents unhappy about the news.Lakeland resident Laura Stanton, whose sixth-grade daughter has a diagnosis of ADHD, said she has consulted with Hope Workman since the girl was in kindergarten."Even though by now I consider myself experienced a little bit with the system, there are still times I could show up at meetings and they just will not listen to me at all when I'm trying to get them to understand how to help my child learn," Stanton said. "I go to meetings and quite often run into parents who have been struggling for years to get their students something they need that the schools could offer through the IEP, and the parents don't understand and are constantly being turned down by the schools."

'MINIMAL' SUPPORTMiller, who serves as chair of the school district's ESE Advisory Council, said parents of children with disabilities need all the help they can get."Parent support is minimal in this county for students with disabilities," Miller said. "What I told people is I really feel it's just one less parent service being provided, and we have so few to begin with."As part of their contracts, two of the parent liaisons also led support groups. Hope Workman led ADHD support groups in Lakeland and Bartow, and Wick Workman supervised a support group in Poinciana for various mental disabilities.Woolcock said the support groups will not be continued.Robert Allison, a Lakeland psychologist, said he and a colleague, Kevin Kindelan, sometimes took part in the support groups. Allison lamented the loss of the liaison positions."Getting a chance to work with the liaisons made it easy for us to communicate with principals and teachers and students and gave us a direct window into that world," Allison said. "Losing them kind of takes out the window of reaching that greater population. I think the immediate impact in the county is they lose a huge resource to connect mental health information."Woolcock said any parents of students in the ESE program who need assistance should call the district at 863-534-0930.

[ Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Join his discussion of books at http://ledgerlit.blogs.theledger.com or facebook.com/ledgerlit. ]